## On this page

This is the process we use to publish new versions of JavaScript NPM packages.

Publishing NPM dependencies requires being a member of the [Medplum dev team](https://github.com/orgs/medplum/teams/dev).

Note that publishing to NPM is separate from deploying to production. For details on deploying to production, see:

- Hosted Medplum uses CI/CD which automatically pushes to production on every merge to `main`
- For self-hosted, see [Install on AWS - Ongoing](/content/docs/self-hosting/install-on-aws#ongoing/index.html)

## Steps

The Medplum publish process is automated using Github Actions.

### 1. Prepare the release

- Go to [GitHub Actions](https://github.com/medplum/medplum/actions)
- In the left side bar, click [Prepare release](https://github.com/medplum/medplum/actions/workflows/prepare-release.yml)
- Click the "Run workflow" button
- Use the default branch `main`
- Click "Run workflow"

This will initiate the action, which will create the release PR and a draft "Release".

Wait for the normal PR process, and merge the PR when ready.

### 2. Publish the release

- Go to [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/medplum/medplum/releases)
- At the top, there should be a new release in "Draft" status
- Click the pencil icon for "Edit"
- Leave the tag alone
- Update the "Target"
  - Click on the "Target: main" button
  - Go to the "Recent Commits" tab
  - Select the Release commit
- Update the release notes as you see fit
  - Give shout-outs to new contributors
  - When necessary, add notes about new features
  - At your discretion, remove trivial commits
- Click "Publish release"

That will create a new Github "Release", which starts a "Publish" action.